Share this with

The deep end: A garden in Magdeburg shows the extent of the damage done by the River Elbe bursting a dam (Picture: Reuters)

Thousands have been forced to flee their homes and a major international rail route has had to shut as the swollen River Elbe burst a dam.

About 23,000 residents were left temporarily homeless in the east German city of Magdeburg after the huge surge as water levels rose to 5m (16ft) above the norm.

Armed forces and police were called into action to build sandbag defences in the Saxony- Anhalt capital.

Interior minister Holger Stahlknecht said: ‘We should accept that we humans should be humble, that even in the 21st century we don’t completely control nature – that is one lesson from this situation.’

Further down river, a levee was broken at Fischbeck to the west of Berlin, causing ten villages to be evacuated and a train line connecting the city to Cologne, Frankfurt and Amsterdam to be closed and trains cancelled.

Backdropped by the Chain Bridge, the flood of River Danube is seen at the Adam Clark square in central Budapest, Hungary, 10 June 2013. The past week’s flooding has claimed more than a dozen lives in Central Europe and wreaked havoc in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. (Picture: EPA)

The flooded River Danube is seen at the Jozsef Antall quay in central Budapest, Hungary, 10 June 2013. The past week’s flooding has claimed more than a dozen lives in Central Europe and wreaked havoc in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. (Picture: EPA)

Backdropped by the Parliament building (R), the flooded River Danube is seen from the Chain Bridge in central Budapest, Hungary, 10 June 2013. The past week’s flooding has claimed more than a dozen lives in Central Europe and wreaked havoc in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. (Picture: EPA)

Backdropped by the Royal Palace in the Castle of Buda and the Chain Bridge, the flooded River Danube is seen in central Budapest, Hungary, 10 June 2013. The past week’s flooding has claimed more than a dozen lives in Central Europe and wreaked havoc in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. (Picture: EPA)

Volunteers carry sandbags to the transformer station in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

Firefighters and soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr make their way through a street flooded by the river Elbe in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

Soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr carry sandbags in a street flooded by the river Elbe in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

Soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr and members of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) work in a street flooded by the river Elbe in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

Pedestrians walk through a street flooded by the river Elbe in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

A man walks through a street flooded by the river Elbe in Magdeburg’s Rothensee district, eastern Germany, on June 9, 2013, as soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr and local residents sit on a truck. German authorities urged 15,000 more people to flee their homes in Magdeburg on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe’s worst floods in a decade also threatened Hungary after causing havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria. (Picture: Getty)

The Danube in Budapest hit an all-time high of 8.9m (29ft), although flood defences appear to have seen off any threat of damage in the Hungarian capital.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Mayor Istvan Tarlos said: ‘We have no reports of any catastrophic situation, the situation is normalising.’

Prime minister Viktor Orban added that Budapest ‘should be out of danger by Wednesday’, with more havoc expected in the south where 1,200 people were forced out of their properties.

‘The flood peak is approaching the heart of the country,’ he said. ‘Two very important days are ahead of us.’

The latest surges by the Elbe and Danube come on the back of extensive damage caused by river swells in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia which have left at least 21 dead.